Qatar Airways statement on Airbus A350 aircraft

Through regular checks to ensure the continued safety and security of its passengers, and aircraft,, Qatar Airways continues to closely monitor the significant condition across its Airbus A350 fleet in which the fuselage surface below the paint is degrading at an accelerated rate. The airline is working with its regulator to ensure the continued safety of all passengers, and on this basis and following the explicit written instruction of its regulator, 13 aircrafts have now been grounded, effectively removing these from service until such time as the root cause can be established and a satisfactory solution made available to permanently correct the underlying condition.

The airline will do all it can to also ensure that its passengers are not inconvenienced by the mandated removal of these aircraft from service and will endeavor to find alternative solutions to offer the usual high standard of service to all passengers. Qatar Airways has already taken action to return its A330 fleet into service with immediate effect to offset some of the impact of the grounded A350 aircraft and is presently looking at other solutions too. As the airline is focused on protecting its reputation for offering the highest levels of customer experience, Qatar Airways is cooperating with all the leasing companies affected by this A350 grounding that have started to inspect impacted aircraft.